Obama’s recent nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the vacant Supreme Court position has raised a heated controversy between Democrats and Republicans.

If nominated, Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice in the United States. Democrats support President Barack Obama’s nomination, saying that Sotomayor is a well-qualified judge whose personal background and experience will bring much to the Supreme Court. 

Republicans, of course, oppose her. They claim that Sotomayor is a racist and a liberal judicial activist. They claim that she believes a person’s race, gender, and ethnicity ought to affect the decisions one renders on the bench. But is this what the Republicans truly believe or is it an excuse to oppose what the Democrats support. Like all political issues, if one party takes a position, the other will take the opposing position; this issue is no different.

Obama is a Democrat so it is no surprise that his party will support his nomination, despite what others argue. Then there are the Republicans, who must oppose the president. Why? Because he’s a Democrat. If they don’t, it’s just not American politics. Each party cannot let the other come out on top.

That’s why Republicans oppose Sotomayor. If she does get appointed to the Supreme Court, the Democrats will have won. They will have the upper hand on the Republicans, which would be a complete disaster.

Of course, the Republicans can’t let that happen. That leaves them only one choice: to argue against Sotomayor. So they uncover whatever they can to create their argument why her nomination should not be confirmed.

On the other hand, Democrats find whatever they can to support Sotomayor to try and prove the President is right. So the debate over the qualifications of a judge turns into a fight of two parties to be on top. The main concern is to prove the party is right, not to prove Sotomayor is qualified or not.

Is the judge the issue or the party? That’s American politics for you. Politics exist to help the people. Democrats and Republicans should be focused on whether Sotomayor will make the right decisions that represent the beliefs of people despite what the other parties support. Believe it or not, it is not a crime for both parties to agree or something. It is pretty simple: judge the judge.